A Flair For Fashion And A Love For Vero Beach

After a decade-long absence, Sharon Batten, well-known for her couture collections and trunk shows, has returned to Vero Beach. For 22 years her boutique in The Village Shops featured clothing created by the fashion world’s top designers, among them Oscar de la Renta, Geoffrey Beene and Carolina Herrera. Sharon knew all of them personally and frequently invited them to her fundraising events in support of the Indian River Medical Center Foundation, Riverside Theatre and the Vero Beach Museum of Art. 

The day Sharon’s name no longer spanned the awning on the wood-frame building facing Highway A1A, an era of classic elegance came to a close. “I wasn’t planning on leaving Vero Beach forever, as Howard and I have always loved it here and knew one day we’d return,” says Sharon as she speaks of the opportunity that prompted the couple to purchase Barton Sligh, a fashion boutique in Jacksonville owned by Sara Barton.

“I had met Sara at fashion shows while in Europe and had gotten to know her well. When I learned she was planning to sell her store, we decided to buy it. My desire was to carry on the tradition of high-end designer clothing. In the beginning things were going so well that we moved to a much larger store in The Shoppes at Ponte Vedra,” says Sharon, her smile fading as she relates what happened next. “Then came the recession and increased competition from Internet retailers. We tried to diversify, but sales were down 40 to 60 percent. It was a struggle to survive, and we finally had to close the doors.”